Africa · True size
🇲🇷 Mauritania
2.1×
Mauritania is drawn 2.1× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
1,038,367 km²
On the old map
2.1×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#102
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.77%
On the old map
Mauritania looks about the same size as Spain on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Mauritania at the size the old map gives it, next to Spain's true size. Mauritania's real area is 1,038,367 km² — Spain is 506,185 km².
By area
Mauritania is big enough to fit Egypt inside it, by area — 1,003,722 km² combined.
Mauritania would fit inside Bolivia, Ethiopia and Colombia, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Mauritania 4.3 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Mauritania 15 times.
Why the old map gets it wrong
The old map stretches land more the further it is from the equator — twice the area at 45°, four times at 60°. Mauritania's middle sits at 20°N, where the stretch is about 1.1×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Mauritania's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.